Cash Strapped Tanzanians Spark Castration Craze

A Tanzanian man recently castrated himself in a bizarre attempt to appease angry creditors, a Reuters article revealed this week.

The 24 year old apparently tricked friends into loaning him money for a business venture, then blew the lot on prostitutes and fast living, cutting off his penis to pre-empt their punishment, said Reuters, adding that a second Tanzanian apparently took the same dramatic step two months previously.

In more genital mutilation news, researchers in Sydney, Australia suggested this week that men with genital piercings could be at risk of catching and passing on HIV through their piercings after examining 75 gay men infected between 1993 and 1999.

"Breaches in skin integrity [such as] piercing of the genitals may constitute a breach [through which HIV is transmitted]," the researchers told Positive Nation.

"Even when the skin has apparently healed on the surface, the presence of a metal stud or ring may cause ongoing subclinical inflammation."
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